Question about shipping horses...

[princessthelmared]

There are free good horses all over the place. Try some of these sites. www.equinesite.com they just had a really nice QH for free and many others. Look under the classifieds. COTH www.cronicleofthehorse and there are always free horses on there. There is a giveaway section. Also, one major place in your area is the Standardbred retirement foundation. Type that in and it will come up. They are in NJ. They have quite a good ap process. I was approved through them and they have some great horses for cheap or free. Some are just young and did not make the cut.

As far as shipping prices it is usually around 1.50 a loaded mile last I knew, but with the gas prices it may have gone up.

Edited to add- here is an ad for a horse. Its in NE somewhere, but looks like it could make a decent one. I dont think the pictures do her any justice. I came upon this listing on craigslist and I believe she is free since there is no price in the ad. Here's the link: http://newlondon.craigslist.org/pet/525335674.html

She is also listed on www.neequinerescue

 

[patandchickens]

Having lived in NJ for a while, and grown up outside Philly (and stll visit there frequently), I know exactly what Chickerdoodle13 means about insane horse prices, and I can very easily believe them to have been relatively little effected by the recent national downturn.

But I think it's premature for us to be offering specific suggestions without knowing a lot more about what she is looking for. Not-100%-sound-for-serious-work, needing-of-major-training-holes-being-fixed horses are a dime a dozen, and can be had rel. cheap even in her area if you look. Trailsafe or unrated-showable horses with reasonable deportment and fairly manageable soundness problems can be found visarescues, tack sop ads, the Chronicle forum, etcetera but will take some patient sleuthing and weeding-out. But if she is looking for something really sound and trained, or something with some deficiencies in those respects but the potential to become competetive in rated shows, it would take really serious detective work and a lot of luck to get that anywhere as cheaply in the NJ / SE PA region as in most other places.

Chickerdoodle, you should be able to ship a horse from several states away for $500 ish (ballpark, and depends on urgency and distance of course). However unless you have had a LOT of experience riding hundreds of different horses and/or have successfully done significant remedial training on several dozen, it would be a big risk to buy a horse without actually trying it thoroughly yourself. If nothing el;se, not everyone 'clicks' with every horse. Consider researching an area with a buncha likely prospects and then taking a weekend roadtrip. Although, enough weekend roadtrips and you start spending as much as you mighta done locally...

You *could* I suppose take the attitude that if it doesn't work out you sell it locally and try again, BUT aside from many other down sides to this, by the time you have vetted and shipped the horse and put a couple months board into it you may barely break even, and that's IF you can sell the horse instantly rather than having to keep feeding it for months til a buyer emerges. If you do decide to go this way, in my experience (having bought a variety of horses, one by email and crappy video only, as well as seen a whole big lot of people do what you're describibg) you really NEED to confine your search to area(s) with someone on the ground whose riding skills you know well and who knows YOUR riding skills and needs very well. Induce them to try the horse for you, with the whole thing videotaped, before you decide. And have them choose a vet too - you NEED a prepurchase exam, at LEAST for eyes and lungs, in this situation (you could even see if they will do health papers at that time, as you will need them for shipping)... there are sadly a lot of vets whose idea of sound and healthy pretty much starts and stops at 'is the horse upright and breathing"

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Thanks Pat! And everyone else! Those are some excellent points.

I would not be ready for a horse until around early may, so like I said, really I am only seeking out all my options. I plan on keeping my eyes open for ads and just talking to people. Seems like you can come across good deals that way.

Unfortunately with Stetson, it just seems to be a personality thing. I rode him so many times before we bought him and I spent a lot of time with him and really thought he would be the one. He still might be, but I do have to spend more time with him. The only problem is I have to wait until a day my dad is planning not to ride! LOL

I would really like to get a horse that I want. The last time we looked at horses, I know my decision was swayed a lot by my dad. He wanted a western quarter horse and I was after something a little different. It was a tense few months between us, but I am truly glad he's found something he loves. I know the other horse will not last forever and I'm in college now. In a few years I may not be living with my parents. I do have to keep that in mind too.

My dad has done amazing things with Stetson. That horse has come a looooong way! I just miss being able to take both the horses with me on a trail ride so that I can go with a friend. My dad will not trust stetson on the trailer yet with me, even if I am confident I can handle him.

So, worst comes to worst, I will just tell my dad I want more time with him this summer. I rode quite a bit last summer, but not enough to fully get a feel of him. I rode my other horse for close to ten years before I truly got a feel for her.

Anyways, thanks again!

 

[SunChick]

Quote:
Well in my honest opinion, it sounds like you have a lot on your plate to consider, especially the college issue. You really need to be true to what YOU want, after all, you will be riding the horse. You need to be honest with yourself about your own abilities, sure you may feel you can handled the horse, but so did I once upon a time and learned better from it. You also need to be honest with yourself with how much TIME you can devote to the horse to honestly get to know them, especially since you are a college student and may not live with mom/dad in the future. College takes a lot of time. Things to also consider, will you be able to afford it? Sure, there are a lot of really good deals on a horse market that is sliding downhill. People are practically giving away good decent broke horses because they cannot afford to feed them, due to the hay shortages and rising costs of corn. Can you afford the feed bill, the repeat farrier visits, the annual shots etc? Will Mom and Dad foot the bill? You say the other horse will not last forever, well what does, it almost sounds like you are planning on not keeping the horse. Do you plan on ditching that horse after a few years if he doesn't fit your lifestyle? Buying an animal takes a huge commitment emotionally and monetarily.

Maybe you should consider a lease. Short time commitment, you can ride a horse that fits your riding style, you don't have to put mucho $$ into continual care etc. Just some thoughts! Happy Hunting.

 

[SebrightLover]

Quote:
Dern .. I had to go look at show clothes and horse!

...13 I wish you luck in your search.

 

[silkieluvr]

To answer the buying without seeing the horse first question, you basically have to trust your instincts. I live in california and needed a good jumper pony so my trainer talked to a man in Ireland and we found my horse (finn) It was really hard to make a decision without even meeting the pony first but I definately am SO glad that I trusted my instinct and bought the pony

 

[miss_thenorth]

I'm looking for a new horse too... everyone told me winter is the best time to buy, but I am having a difficult time finding what I want.

Our one horses is sold, and we have about a month to find a new one, as we don't want our other horse to be alone. Seems I knew of many horses in the summer, but we were not in a position to buy at that time....

Also about the college thing... one thing I noticed while horse hunting-- is alot of college students are offering their horses for lease while they are in school, as they don't have time to ride them, etc... just something to think about....

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

It's not that I am worried about not having time to ride while at school. It's just I have no idea where I will be in four years. It seems like I am home on breaks more than I am actually at school LOL.

My dad uses our two horses now to go trail riding with friends. However, the one horse is in his mid twenties and has unexpected bouts of lameness. He probably has quite a few years left of good riding, but we can't ride him on rough trails forever. We do a lot of rocky trails and backwoods rides and there's no room for a horse that comes up lame while out there! We plan on keeping him for the rest of his life. It's just that we probably will not be able to ride him like we do now for the rest of his life. Eventually we will retire him to a life of light riding around the house.

Right now my dad pays all the bills. We are lucky enough to be able to buy hay for $3 a bale which I've heard is pretty cheap. I'm lucky because my dad enjoys the horses just as much as I do so he does not hesitate to pay for them. He also cares for them while I am away and does not mind. We pretty much share the horses and since it is a passion of his as well the money we pay for them is the same that would go towards any other hobby.

As far as leasing goes, I just don't think that would be an option for us. It's way more expensive to lease a horse than to actually buy a horse. Perhaps leasing with option to buy would work, but in NJ it would probably be the same to lease a horse for a year as it would to buy one. I do have friends who are always offering to let me use their horses, but I'm so paranoid something will happen and I don't want to be responsible for that. When my other horse was alive, it was great because I could just load her and do whatever I wanted. That's basically what I want to have again, but my dad is so paranoid/protective of this new (Not really new...we've had him for a year and a half) horse that I can't do anything. He doesn't let me ride in the street, he doesn't let me take the horses on the trail, and he is even nervous about me riding alone in the arena. I've been riding for about 12 or 13 years, so it's not that I am inexperienced at all. It was even so bad that he wouldn't even let me put the horses in or out of the stalls by myself because he was afraid I would get hurt by stetson. He is afraid of all this stuff with me, yet he does it all himself. That's why it feels the horse is more his than mine...even though technically he IS mine. The situation is very frustrating and I always bring up that when Sonny is no longer ride-able, I want to choose a horse and he can have Stetson.

Eventually I will get my dream horse. It was a shame my other horse passed on. She had 10 or 15 more years of good riding left!

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Lauren

You could google horse moving companies, contact them, and get a price quote for shipping from different states.
With fuel prices changing all the time, the cost will change also, but you can get an idea of what it would take.
That will make a big difference in your decision when the time comes to look for another horse.

There were several sites mentioned with horses for sale, I would check them out too. See if there are any within driving distance. It would be better in my opinion if you could see the horse and ride it before buying.
I remember what you went through when you got Stetson, and I'm sure the prices have not come down any in your area.

You can contact me if you decide to do this. I'll help if I can.

Jean

 

[miss_thenorth]

While I was looking for horses, I searched a few stables and boarding facilitiesin my county. Some of them offered horse transportation as a service. Might be worth looking into in your area.